How to turn a (relatively) simple job into a near impossible one.

[El Gringo]

Yep, doing better than that I think by using a cutting disk down the sides of the bold and breaking the ally away.
Check out my last pic to see what I mean.

I'll do it to the other 3 culprits and see how we go with the welder again.
It's all copping a hiding with my lump hammer and cold chisel as well, so hopefully it will have loosened up a lot.

Cheers.

[Greynomad]

“If all else fails,
Get a bigger hammer.”

[T1 Terry]

Who has the job of welding that back together If it is the bottom stud that is stopping the unit from coming off, try the welded nut on that one as well and see if the whole stud can be worked back and forward until it comes out. Try giving the welded studs a belt on the end while they are still hot, that might also get a bit of movement and that is all that's needed to get the lubrication down the thread/around the stud and let it move a bit either way just that bit further until it comes out or you get so frustrated you give it that extra turn and snap it off again .....

Remember, if a large block hammer won't shift it, don't force it

T1 Terry

[El Gringo]

Who has the job of welding that back together If it is the bottom stud that is stopping the unit from coming off, try the welded nut on that one as well and see if the whole stud can be worked back and forward until it comes out. Try giving the welded studs a belt on the end while they are still hot, that might also get a bit of movement and that is all that's needed to get the lubrication down the thread/around the stud and let it move a bit either way just that bit further until it comes out or you get so frustrated you give it that extra turn and snap it off again .....

Remember, if a large block hammer won't shift it, don't force it

T1 Terry

No chance of welding it back together, have a replacement coming.
One of the top ones is moving just with vice grips, so it's looking promising.
Will cut around the other 3 later and see how we go.
Don't worry, I have heated, heated and bashed, welded and bashed, soaked and bashed, so now it's cut and bash then weld and wriggle and bash.

Just so you get an idea, they call me 'Brute Force" on another forum..

Cheers,

[jon_d]

Backwards and forwards. Little by little. Just break corrosive weld gently and it will come loose.

[El Gringo]

Making headway with it..
3 bolts out, the 4th is moving with vice grips, I'll weld a nut on it though to make it easier to remove.
The last one is quite awkward, the oil filter is pretty close below it and it's not easy to get the grinder into it.
I'm hoping when I get the 2nd last bolt out that I can move the rest of the cover around to help loosen it up.

It's a real shame to be cutting this cover up as it's in really good shape inside - if only I had just welded a nut onto the first stuck bolt I wouldn't have had too...

Anyway I can't do much more for a few days as I promised a friend I would help him repaint the sun damaged top of his car.

Cheers,

[El Gringo]

It's finally out... there was a 3rd bolt hiding in there as well, snapped half way down.
It put up a real fight, but I got there.

Now to clean up the replacement parts, do the mods I had in mind, including a 2nd radiator, get it all together (without leaks) and go, go, go...

Cheers,